Late into the night, the bright moon hung high in the sky.
Zi Yan, Little Fairy Doctor, and Hai Bo Dong had not yet returned. Su Qian temporarily took Hai Bo Dong's place, directing his subordinates in the enthusiastic repair of the Purple Firmament Pavilion, which had been damaged by the Earth Demon Old Ghost.
Chen Xiao went in and out of Cai Lin's room, constantly delivering elixirs and medicinal ingredients to speed up her recovery.
Cai Lin leaned against the headboard the entire time, her posture lazy and relaxed. Watching him bustle about, her lips curved slightly, and her eyes held a tenderness that outsiders could not see.
"Don't use your strength these next few days. Recover to your peak first."
Cai Lin nodded gently. "It will take at most one... month for this King to recover. You should go and recuperate. This King hasn't experienced the feeling of having Soul Power heavily depleted, but it must not be pleasant."
Chen Xiao nodded, giving her a few more instructions before returning to his own room.
Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Chen Xiao cleared his mind. His cultivation technique quietly circulated, and he entered a state of cultivation.
With the assistance of the Ice Spirit Jade, it only took an hour for Chen Xiao to fully recharge the Ice Soul Talisman. The Dou Qi within his body also recovered by about seventy to eighty percent.
However, despite this, he could still feel a sense of fatigue deep within his soul. This was due to the excessive consumption of Soul Power.
For an ordinary person, recovering to their peak would likely take ten days to half a month. Chen Xiao, possessing a method for cultivating the soul, could greatly accelerate this process, but it would still take at least two or three days.
Not in a hurry to recover his Soul Power, Chen Xiao raised his hand and looked at the Storage Ring on his finger, which belonged to the Earth Demon Old Ghost.
Although this dark Storage Ring didn't look particularly good, it was a genuine high-grade Storage Ring. Its internal space was comparable to Han Feng's Nether Sea Storage Ring.
His consciousness entered it, and soon, Chen Xiao took out four scrolls.
"Mid-Level Earth Tier Cultivation Technique, the Earth Demon Devouring Heart Art."
This was an Ice Attribute cultivation technique. Chen Xiao opened it and read through it entirely.
This cultivation technique was quite overbearing, yet also somewhat strange and sinister. After cultivating it, the color of one's Dou Qi would turn black, and its aura and circulation would give others a strong sense of oppression.
Recalling the Earth Demon Old Ghost's appearance, which was neither human nor ghost, Chen Xiao immediately lost interest in this cultivation technique.
In terms of functionality alone, this Earth Demon Devouring Heart Art was completely inferior to the Ice Hell Scripture he cultivated.
As he acquired more spoils of war and encountered stronger experts, Chen Xiao would undoubtedly primarily use Earth Tier Dou Skills in the future.
And to frequently use Earth Tier Dou Skills, consumption was the first issue to consider.
In this regard, his Ice Hell Scripture had an incomparable advantage.
Shaking his head slightly, Chen Xiao set it aside.
He couldn't use it himself, but he could ask Hai Bo Dong for his opinion.
However, based on Chen Xiao's understanding of Hai Bo Dong, the Ice Emperor liked to show off in front of others. Being handsome and dashing was his preference. Hai Bo Dong probably wouldn't be interested in a cultivation technique that made one look like a ghost after cultivating it.
After all, the cultivation technique Hai Bo Dong was currently practicing had long since been replaced by a Low-Grade Earth Rank one, so the rank difference wasn't significant.
His gaze shifted to the three scrolls beside him.
"Low-Level Earth Tier Dou Skill: Thousand Illusory Profound Ice Thorns."
"Mid-Level Earth Tier Dou Skill: Ice Condensing Sword Art!"
"Mid-Level Earth Tier Dou Skill: Blood Cold Extreme Freezing Sky!"
In fact, besides these three Dou Skills, Chen Xiao also discovered two other Low-Grade Earth Tier Dou Skills in the Earth Demon Old Ghost's Storage Ring. However, after glancing at them and finding they weren't suitable for him, Chen Xiao didn't bother taking them out.
Returning to the main topic, among the three Dou Skills before him, Chen Xiao had personally witnessed Thousand Illusory Profound Ice Thorns and Ice Condensing Sword Art.
The former was very similar to Hai Bo Dong's Profound Ice Thorns and could be called an upgraded version of it.
Chen Xiao just read through it entirely and immediately had a feeling that if he and Hai Bo Dong cultivated this Dou Skill, it would be extremely easy.
As for Ice Condensing Sword Art, it was an advanced manifestation of Thousand Illusory Profound Ice Thorns. As long as one mastered Thousand Illusory Profound Ice Thorns, Ice Condensing Sword Art would not be difficult either.
This was similar to the Wind and Lightning Pavilion's Three Thousand Lightning Movement and Three Thousand Lightning Phantom Body. Only by fully mastering Three Thousand Lightning Movement was one qualified to cultivate Three Thousand Lightning Phantom Body.
"These two Dou Skills can both be used."
Chen Xiao nodded with satisfaction.
The last one, Blood Cold Extreme Freezing Sky.
Executing this Dou Skill could cause the surrounding temperature to plummet, forming a frozen world that greatly suppressed enemies within it. The cold qi it emitted could even cause the Dou Qi within the enemy's body to condense into ice!
The greater the difference in strength, the more obvious the suppression.
If the strengths were similar, it would be difficult to achieve such a significant effect.
"It has some common points with the Ice Soul Talisman I threw out. It's a divine skill for clearing out weaklings, but it's difficult to have a practical effect on truly threatening experts. No wonder the Earth Demon Old Ghost didn't use it today. However, I've refined Heavenly Cold Qi. Assuming we are at the same level, if I were to use this Blood Cold Extreme Freezing Sky, its power should be slightly stronger than the Earth Demon Old Ghost's..."
This Dou Skill was somewhat like a domain type, with extremely obvious advantages and disadvantages.
Setting it aside for now, Chen Xiao continued to organize the spoils of war.
Excluding cultivation techniques and Dou Skills, there weren't many elixirs in the Earth Demon Old Ghost's Storage Ring. The most precious were four Low-Grade Seventh Rank Instant Qi Pills.
Taking this pill could restore some Dou Qi in a very short time. Even for a Dou Zong expert, the Dou Qi effect was considerable.
Chen Xiao had never seen this pill before. The fact that he could recognize it was thanks to the label the Earth Demon Old Ghost had affixed to the jade bottle...
Besides this Instant Qi Pill, Chen Xiao also saw some familiar elixirs, such as Qing Yuan Pills and the like.
Their value was not low, but they were not enough to make Chen Xiao emotional.
He continued sorting through the items.
There wasn't a single medicinal herb; they had all gone into Zi Yan's pocket.
There were two Magic Cores, both six-tier Ice Attribute ones.
The seven-tier Magic Core that the Earth Demon Old Ghost had prepared for refining the Heavenly Demon Puppet was not on him.
Gold Coins? None.
A large pile of various miscellaneous items.
"Hmm?"
Chen Xiao let out a soft exclamation. With a flip of his hand, a notebook with a black cover appeared in his palm.
Opening it, he immediately realized it was the Earth Demon Old Ghost's journal.
There weren't many words recorded on each page, only two or three lines of small text, mostly about things the Earth Demon Old Ghost considered important.
For instance, in a certain year and month, he had a sudden realization and prepared to go into seclusion to break through.
Or, the Earth Demon Old Ghost's inspiration regarding the Transformation Fire, or inspiration for some Dou Skills, and so on.
Chen Xiao flipped through most of it before finding a particularly special page.
This page was almost entirely filled by the Earth Demon Old Ghost, densely packed with writing.
"Thirty years have passed, and I've finally found another clue to the Purple Spirit Cold Qi. Refining this item can greatly enhance the power of the Ice Attribute Dou Qi within my body, even causing it to mutate. Even when facing Fire Attribute experts who wield Heavenly Flames, I will no longer be at a disadvantage. The Extreme Northern Land, the False Heaven, this old man must go there! But before setting off..."
Hundreds of words, rambling on, filled with the Earth Demon Old Ghost's yearning for the Purple Spirit Cold Qi.
As someone with the Ice Attribute, what the Earth Demon Old Ghost yearned for, Chen Xiao also desired.
However, the Earth Demon Old Ghost hadn't obtained this item, so something must have gone wrong along the way.
As Chen Xiao continued to read, he quickly found the answer.
"False Heaven my ass! Wasted three years of this old man's time. The Extreme Northern Land doesn't have such a place. Rumors are unreliable! Fortunately, I gained something, my cultivation has advanced further..."
On this page, Chen Xiao felt the Earth Demon Old Ghost's overflowing resentment.
Chen Xiao chuckled, placing the notebook aside.
At the same time, with a thought, he began browsing the pre-pay information in his mind.
"Heavenly Demon Puppet."
Heavenly Demon Puppet: Can be pre-paid.
Pre-pay Follow-up: Complete any one of the following screened options with the highest success rate.
① Kill one Dou Zong, kill one seventh-tier Magical Beast, capture one soul body.
② Enter the Ancient Ruins in the Beast Region and obtain a Heavenly Demon Puppet.
③ Go to the Northern Continent, enter the False Heaven outside the Fallen God Ice Plain, and obtain a Heavenly Demon Puppet.
④...
Ignoring the other options, Chen Xiao's 'gaze' fixed on the third one.
Strange lands produce strange items; it wasn't surprising that there were more Ice Attribute spiritual items in the Northern Continent.
And the Northern Continent was also referred to as the Extreme Northern Land.
"According to the Earth Demon Old Ghost's journal, the place where the Purple Spirit Cold Qi is located also has a Heavenly Demon Puppet. Could this False Heaven be an ancient ruin?"
The more Chen Xiao thought about it, the more likely it seemed. If that were the case, it made sense that the Earth Demon Old Ghost hadn't been able to find it.
"It seems I'll have to make a trip to the Northern Continent in the future."
Just based on what he had found so far, Chen Xiao realized that the Northern Continent had quite a few good things.
There were Heavenly Flames, Heavenly Cold Qi, Heavenly Demon Puppets, Purple Spirit Cold Qi, and unconfirmed ancient ruins...
All these things combined were enough to make one's heart pound.
Temporarily suppressing these thoughts, Chen Xiao picked up the notebook and continued reading.
As someone with the Ice Attribute, many of the Earth Demon Old Ghost's jottings were very helpful to him.
Especially the old fellow's research on Transformation Fire and flames, as well as some recorded preliminary Dou Skills, which gave Chen Xiao a lot of inspiration.
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